Frontier Tech Hub Newsletter #10
Welcome to the tenth issue of the Frontier Tech Hub’s regular newsletter, with a wide range of updates from across the Hub.
This month, we’re featuring six deep dive reports. These surface and collate direct learnings from over 50 pilots which have been testing frontier technologies over the last 6 years. We asked a key researcher from each deep dive to tell us what they found most important about the work and this is what they had to say. You’ll also find a showcase of one of our brilliant Pioneers, and the latest opportunities and resources from the hub.
Making climate finance work for early-stage innovations in low-income country settings
“Early-stage climate innovations seeking to access climate finance to scale their solutions in low- or middle-income countries often face a number of barriers. To better understand how these barriers can be overcome, this deep dive explores the different kinds of climate finance available for early-stage innovations, and the pivotal role public sector finance can play in supporting this kind of investment. We hope that the work can provide a framework for organisations at varying stages of the investment chain to realise the potential impact of early-stage climate solutions through climate finance.” Anna Crawford, Innovation Coach at the FT Hub
Read a summary of key learnings and download the full report here.
Scaling Distributed Manufacturing in the Global South
“Over two billion people still lack access to basic necessities. At the same time, there is an urgent need to reduce our impact on the planet. Moving away from mass production and global shipping of goods, towards decentralised ecosystems of production and innovation offers the only credible way I have come across to square this circle. Being able to scale distributed manufacturing is thus essential for a just future.” Anna Sera Lowe, Chief Catalyst at Manufacturing Change
Read a summary of key learnings and download the full report here.
IoT Sensors for Impact
”10 Frontier Technologies pilots have tested Internet enabled sensors for social, environmental and humanitarian impact. The pilots have validated the catalytic potential for sensors, especially when used alongside other technologies like AI, to deliver impact. However within the Global South more generally, and in the context of the use cases explored by FT pilots more specifically, scaling IoT sensors is still at a nascent stage. Consequently, our report seeks to share findings on the catalytic potential for sensors, as well as the lessons learned, enablers and barriers for scaling these technologies for impact” Ian Vickers, Evidence Lead at Frontier Tech Hub
Read a summary of key learnings and download the full report here.
Pioneer of the month - Sumit Dugar
Sumit Dugar, a civil engineer turned ‘social engineer’, is working at the British Embassy in Nepal to build and strengthen the country's capacity for hazard response and preparedness. He believes that early warning systems alone are not enough to protect communities from natural hazards. To address this, Sumit collaborated with the Youth Innovation Lab to develop an integrated hazard information management system. Despite initial scepticism, the project succeeded and the prototype was publicly endorsed by the Nepalese government. Now, Sumit aims to ensure that local governments understand and utilise the data to make informed decisions, leading to impactful actions such as constructing safe shelters, resettling high-risk areas, and improving water supply and irrigation systems. The goal is to collaborate with local authorities and learn about their priorities to create meaningful change in hazard risk reduction.
You can read more about Sumit’s work with the Frontier Technologies Programme here
In other news…
Showcasing innovations in our humanitarian portfolio: On the 30th June at 3pm UK time, we’ll be holding a panel discussion to explore how innovative finance models can support more localised, humanitarian action to support community resilience. You can sign-up here to receive a calendar hold, and more detail on the event.
FT Futures - Exploring the future of frontier tech in development: We’ve collaborated with FCDO and external experts to surface 8 megatrends that will shape the next 7 years of technological development, considered what impact this will have on how we do development,and surfaced emerging use-cases that will shape the future of our work. You can watch a short video, breaking down the research here.
Applying machine learning to optimise insect production: Learn about how one of our pilot teams is exploring the application of machine learning to optimise insect production, as a source of feed for livestock in this journal article.
That’s all for this edition…
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